A nationwide policy regarding preventative measures, currently under discussion in Washington, should take priority over state-by-state efforts in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., killings, the governor told the Burlington Free Press on Thursday — the first day since the Dec. 14 massacre that Shumlin has spoken in interviews about firearms policy.

Shumlin, a long-time hunter, said he and most Vermonters view firearms as “tools” to manage natural resources — and not accessories to a culture of violence.

“Vermont should be a model for the country,” the governor said. “We’re not a state that glorifies weapons of war that are of little practical use to a civilian.

“We have tremendous respect for our natural resources, for hunting and a really responsible approach to using weapons, and we use them to manage our natural resources, and to keep our farms strong,” Shumlin continued. “We use them as a tool to prosperity and quality of life.”

Shumlin said he had once shot an assault weapon at a shooting range, but he’s partial to more practical firearms: His hunting rifle of choice is a Remington 708.

“Bolt action’s the only way to go,” he said.

“I will defend the rights of sportsmen and -women to own weapons until my dying day,” Shumlin added. “But in all my years of hunting, I’ve never seen an assault weapon in the woods. People don’t use machines of war to shoot whitetail deer.”

The governor said recent efforts to outlaw large-magazine assault rifles in Vermont’s largest city, Burlington, are beyond his purview.

“Let’s put it this way: I’m very careful about commenting on individual legislative initiatives in our cities and towns, because I’m a big believer in local control — and that’s not my job, and I hope they return the compliment,” he said.

Shumlin said he would likewise sidestep the national debate.

“I’m not in Congress; I’m not the president. I’m spending my time on jobs and economic development in Vermont,” the governor said. “But I have a lot of confidence in the president’s and vice president’s approach to this, which is: Be inclusive, with the goal of not coming up with a solution that looks good, but really diving into the issues that are driving violence, and that are putting weapons in the hands of crazy, deranged people who shouldn’t have them.”

Might the governor’s views signal a greater willingness by the powerful National Rifle Association to negotiate regulation?

That organization has recently released only tightly scripted statements. But the NRA knows Shumlin: In October its Political Victory Fund supported the Vermonter’s re-election campaign.

The group’s endorsement letter stated that Shumlin, as president of the Vermont Senate and later as governor, “opposed legislative efforts that would mandate unnecessary storage requirements of firearms and enact punitive taxes on lead ammunition.”

The governor “also led the effort to to support the creation and development of publicly accessible shooting ranges,” the endorsement letter states.